University of Maine
Sacred Heart
Women's Basketball Nipped by Sacred Heart, 59-58
11/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BANGOR, Maine -- For the second-straight year, the University of Maine women's basketball team (1-3) and Sacred Heart (3-0) were separated by one-point in the end as the Black Bears fell 59-58 to the visiting Pioneers on Sunday afternoon.
Anna Heise (Halle, Germany) netted a career-high 17 points, going 5-for-6 from the floor and knocking down six free throws, to lead Maine's offense. Lauren Bodine (Louisville, Ky.) hit four 3-pointers for 12 points while Sigi Koizar (Vienna, Austria) added 11 points and four rebounds.
Sacred Heart's Hannah Kimmel tallied a game-high 28 points to lead the Pioneers to the win.
The first half of action featured 20-minutes of close back-and-forth action with four ties and three lead changes. Sacred Heart built its lead up to four through the first five minutes of action. Maine had a quick answer with a layup from Wood before Sophie Weckstrom (Espoo, Finland) found Heise down low for a layup. Heise was fouled on the play and hit the free throw, giving Maine its first lead of the contest with 13:22 to play in the half.
The Pioneers knotted things up but it was Heise once again who regained the lead for the Black Bears, hitting back-to-back shots to put the Black Bears up by four with less than five minutes left.
Leading by one, Maine was able to break out a 6-0 run when Bodine cashed in on a pair of 3-pointers, pushing Maine's lead to 28-21 at the three minute mark.
Sacred Heart ended the first half strong, answering with a 6-0 run of its own to cut Maine's lead down to just one at the break.
The Pioneers picked up right where they left off as they began the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 36-28 lead.
Maine answered the run with a 7-0 sprint of its own, keyed on 3-pointers from Heise and Bodine, to bring the Black Bears back within a point.
Sacred Heart was able to build its lead back up to seven with 9:40 left in the half. Maine cut the lead back down to five and tied it up soon after when Koizar pulled up and stuck a 3-pointer on a fastbreak before driving the lane soon after for two.
Maine fell behind by one with 2:45 left before Weckstrom nailed a three from the left wing, putting the Black Bears up by two, before a Heise make extended the lead to four.
A 5-0 run from the Pioneers put the visitors up by one. Two late free throws from Koizar regained the lead for the Black Bears before Kimmel worked her way inside for a layup, giving Sacred Heart a one-point edge with 5-seconds left.
Out a timeout, Maine got the ball to Koizar at the top of the key. The sophomore point guard burned her defense and drove the lane, putting the ball up and off glass but her shot rimmed out and the Pioneers hung on for a 59-58 victory.
Maine returns to action following the Thanksgiving break when it hosts Brown University on Friday, Nov. 28 at 3 p.m. in the opening round of the Black Bears' Thanksgiving Tournament.
-U-M-
